This invention relates to the printing of multi-page documents from a TIFF file, and specifically to the driverless printing of such documents, in a manner which also enables the convenient implementation and performance of a multiplicity of conventional print options. In particular, the invention features methodology, related apparatus, and a TIFF-file data structure which involve modifications in the Image File Directory (IFD) portion(s) of that data structure.
IFD data in a TIFF file is associated with each page-specific (image) data unit, and such IFD data is normally organized to establish regular, serial-order sequential printing of pages. The IFD data includes operational path pointers for directing this normal activity.
As will be seen, the invention provides an easy and elegant way to utilize the internal structure of a TIFF file per se to enable driverless, rasterization-free, multi-option-capability, TIFF-file printing.
According to a preferred manner of practicing the invention, what is proposed is that modifications be appropriately made in what would otherwise be a conventional TIFF-file data structure to alter, in various ways, the page-order and/or page-orientation contents only of IFD data contained in that data structure. Associated image data, per se is not altered. Such page-order and/or page-orientation modifications can readily enable rasterization-free, driverless implementation of multi-page-printing, with full access to a wide range of conventional print options, such as document page splitting, page-specific printing with respect to certain selected pages, face-down and face-up printing where desired, multi-copy per-page printing of selected pages from a file, collated multi-page printing, uncollated multi-page printing, and many others.
The IFD changes which are made in accordance with practice of this invention relate only to page-order and/or page-orientation tag changes include, in general terms, (a) additions, (b) subtractions, and (c) internal modifications, as by the rewriting of pointers.
The methodology of the invention can be described, from a general point of view, as a driverless method for altering, selectively, and solely, the hierarchy (i.e., the order) of page printing from a multi-page TIFF file, and/or the page-orientation tag data, which altering includes the steps of intercepting such a TIFF file upstream from a printer, and then appropriately changing just the page-order tags and/or the page-orientation tags of IFD data present in that file so as to implement, in a driverless manner, a selected print option which differentiates from normal TIFF-file printing. Another way of viewing the methodology of the invention is that it involves creating a multi-page TIFF file for printing, including creating only modified-from-standard IFD page-order and/or page-orientation data in the file. Such modified data includes information that directs the operation of page printing in accordance with the selected print option.
Structure proposed in accordance with the present invention is that which is capable of implementing the methodology just expressed above, and the invention also features unique structure in the revised IFD page-order and/or page-orientation data per se.
These and other objects and advantages which are attained by the invention will become more fully apparent as the description that now follow is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.